Linden was made county seat in 1852, and Atlanta and Queen City grew up along the Texas and Pacific Railway after 1873. Many of the houses here, from Hughes Springs to Avinger, Douglassville, Bloomburg, McLeod and Marietta, date from the long rural stretch before 1950, when only a small share of people lived in town.
That history shows up at the front door and inside. Older multi-step entryways and split-level layouts are common across the county, and those are the spots where getting up and down gets hard first. This page explains which kind of stair lift fits these homes and which programs a Cass County family can call about paying for one.
Most homes here are single-family homes, detached houses and ranch-style homes, with some split-level homes and walk-up apartments. A ranch-style home may have no inside staircase at all, but it often still has steps up to the porch or door. That is where an outdoor stair lift or a platform lift comes in.
Split-level homes usually have short runs of stairs between floors. A short, straight run is the simplest case for a straight stair lift, which rides on a rail fastened to the stair treads. If the stairs turn or have a landing partway, a curved lift with a custom-bent rail is the usual answer.
Walk-up apartments are a different matter, since the stairs are usually shared. Talk with the building owner before planning anything there.
Cass County covers 937 square miles of East Texas Piney Woods, with about 30.4 people per square mile. About 80.6% of residents live in rural areas, out where Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana meet.
Being that spread out means many older homeowners live a fair drive from equipment installers and home-modification contractors. An in-home measurement is worth scheduling early, so the right rail is ordered once and the install happens in one trip. Outdoor lifts at country homes also need a look at how the steps are built and how they hold up to weather.
That is a lot of households where stairs may become a daily problem, and a lot of families who may qualify for veteran benefits.
If a parent is already holding the rail with both hands or avoiding the second floor, that is a good time to measure. A lift on the stairs they use most often, front steps included, usually matters more than one on stairs they rarely climb.
Money is tight for many households here. The median household income is $53,813, the poverty rate is 17.5%, and the median home value is $146,400, so paying fully out of pocket is hard for a lot of seniors.
None of the programs listed below names stair lifts as a covered item, and the VA HISA grant excludes stair glides outright. Several do cover home modifications or accessibility repairs, so the best approach is to call, describe the stairs, and ask whether a lift can be part of the plan. Statewide, you can also ask about the Amy Young Barrier Removal Program (AYBR) and the Community Living Assistance and Support Services (CLASS) Waiver.
For local help, the Ark-Tex AAA office is at 4808 Elizabeth St., Texarkana 75503, (903) 832-8636. Veterans can visit the Cass County Veterans Service Office at 604 TX Hwy 8N, Linden 75563, or call (903) 756-5221.
A Medicaid waiver for Texans 65 and up, or 21 and up with a qualifying disability, who need nursing facility level of care; it includes a home modifications benefit such as grab bars and ramps, but stair lifts are not listed by name, and an interest list applies. Call (877) 438-5658.
Serves adults 60 and up in nine Northeast Texas counties, including Cass, with benefits counseling, care coordination, caregiver support, meals, transportation and more; stair lifts and home modifications are not listed. Call (800) 372-4464.
Loans up to $40,000 at 1% fixed interest and grants up to $10,000 for very-low-income rural homeowners, with grants for those 62 and up who cannot repay a loan. Accessibility work like ramps is an example use, but stair lifts are not named, so confirm your address and project with USDA.
A lifetime VA grant of up to $6,800 or $2,000 for medically necessary home alterations, but it explicitly excludes stair glides and porch lifts. Call (800) 827-1000 to ask about other alterations it may cover.
Grants for veterans with specific severe service-connected disabilities, up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA in FY2026, used to adapt a home with changes like ramps or wider doorways; stair lifts are not named. Call (800) 827-1000.
A nonprofit center serving people of any age with a disability across an East Texas region that includes Cass County, offering peer support, skills training, referral and advocacy; no stair lift or home-modification fund is listed. Call (936) 544-2811.
Older adults
4808 Elizabeth St., Texarkana, 75503
Veterans
604 TX Hwy 8N, Linden, 75563
Often, yes. Many Cass County homes built before 1950 have multi-step entryways, and an outdoor stair lift or a platform lift is made for that spot. We look at how the steps are built before recommending one.
Short, straight runs are usually the simplest case for a straight stair lift. If a run turns or has a landing, a curved rail is needed instead.
The HISA grant specifically excludes stair glides and porch lifts. The SAH and SHA grants do not name stair lifts either, so call the Cass County Veterans Service Office in Linden at (903) 756-5221 and ask what fits your case.
Crockett Resource Center for Independent Living serves people of any age with a disability, at (936) 544-2811. Texas STAR+PLUS also covers adults 21 and up with a qualifying disability who need nursing facility level of care.
The Ark-Tex AAA in Texarkana serves Cass County residents 60 and up with benefits counseling and care coordination. Call (903) 832-8636 or (800) 372-4464.
USDA Section 504 is meant for rural homeowners, and most of Cass County is rural. Each address still has to be checked on the USDA Income and Property Eligibility website, and stair lifts are not named as a covered repair.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
